We Have to Survive
by Joybells246
Summary: A zombie apocalypse has fallen over a city in Mobius. Chaos. Everything starts to fall as Humans and Mobians run for their lives. Our heroes decided to stay and fight, defend, and sacrifice for the ones they love at any cost. With their world shattering, hope seems lost. Suddenly, an old friend decided to visit, but havoc ensued, especially towards a certain Chaotix member.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi peeps this is one of my first fan fiction I'm writing! I hope you do enjoy and please note I am not the best writer in the entire universe, but I will try by best anyways! This story is inspired by World War Z, and after having three dreams with zombies in it. Yeah, three dreams with zombies. The Z's here act like the ones from World War Z too.**

 **No pairings, sorta meh-ish AU maybe, and slight language, although forgive me Lord, and Sonic and everything Sonic belongs to SEGA, not ME. BUT this fan fiction belongs to moi. AND, this story is not affected by Sonic '06 in any way at all! Think of it like as if Sonic '06 never happened at all, OR Sonic '06 _did_ happen but none of their minds were erased and there was an alternate ending somehow. Just roll with it... :P That's why this is a slight AU. And also the city and everything in here isn't completely factual from the actual games, so bear with me. AND lastly, some of the characters, especially Espio, Eggman, Orbot and Cubot, might be slightly out of character. Now I'll stop blabbering and let y'all read! Enjoy! ;)**

 **OH AND comment/review/ask questions!**

* * *

Chapter 1: Mad Doctor

A sly, calculating grin slowly grew on his lips as he laid his eyes upon the glorious piece of apparatus set before him. He nodded his head slowly in admiration at his job well done, congratulating himself. He gave a hearty laugh.

"Beautiful," he growled, smiling evilly whilst observing his experiment. His long, bushy 'stache twitched in ecstasy. The light glinted off his glasses, reflecting the malicious smirk behind. A low, throaty laugh erupted from his lungs as he threw back his bald head.

Before him was an elaborate piece of apparatus set up before him with beakers filled with ominous looking liquids. Papers were scattered on the table in a messy fashion. Gaseous substances began to diffuse into the air as they escape the container they were held in. There was one conical flask being heated up by a bunsen burner. The Doctor, however, threw his attention to the tiny mouse in a holed container, squirming in pure horror at the Doctor's malevolent grin. The mouse, though afraid, does not realize the utter demise it was soon going to face in the next few seconds. Its tiny heart pounded against its rib cage as it continued to squeak desperately.

"Now, now, now," the Doctor began, holding a syringe in his gloved hand, "don't move my little one. This won't hurt at all, oh ho ho, not at all." With that the doctor plunged the syringe into the hole, jabbing the mouse in its thigh. As the mouse shrieked in pain, the Doctor watched in silence, not even flinching at the shrill sound the mouse emitted. As the mouse continued to shriek, two robots behind the Doctor trembled at the sight that developed before their optics.

Eventually the mouse's shriek began to subside.

Silence.

The mouse lay frozen. Gradually the mouse twitched violently and came in contact with the walls of the container. It began to shriek again, louder this time. The container jerked to its left, then its right. The Doctor place a calm hand on the container as he continued to observe closely, his smiling deepening at the sight unfolded before him.

The mouse continued to jerk and twitch and eventually, it stopped. Then with a piercing glare, with its glassy, infected eyes, hissed at the Doctor and banged against the container, demanding to be let out. Foam formed at its mouth and its fur began to ruffle up in defense. Its squeaks were deafening and sharp, but the Doctor never once flinched.

"Perfect," he mumbled in satisfaction, his eyes twinkling with malice. With that, he let out a loud, heartfelt laughter that echoed throughout his lab, causing the two robots behind to shake tremendously. They looked at their mad Doctor, the Doctor that used to experiment with technology, now resorted to Biological experimentation.

* * *

"H-hey, Tails!" called Sonic to a young, yellow fox walking up to him. He winked at his friend as he was approached by the fox.

"You _had_ to bring me here, did you?" Tails asked in utter dismay, doing a small facepalm. His ears twitched in annoyance.

"Well bud, it's the first only Chilidog Convention ever!" Sonic exclaimed jubilantly, thrusting his arms in the air. Tails looked around, unimpressed. Both Mobians stood in a large courtyard filled with Humans and Mobians alike all chatting to one another about the wonders of a chilidog. A large banner was stationed at the front with a badly drawn chilidog on the flag. Rows of tables were filled with an assortment of different kinds of chilidogs.

"Like a chili mustard dog, or a chili salmon caviar dog, or a chilidog with different kinds of dogs!" Sonic explained excitedly, munching on several dogs at once.

"Chilidogs get your chilidogs here!" a seller called from a booth.

Both of them were walking through the convention slowly. Tails gave him a strange look and chuckled at his dog stuffed mouth. But, all the poor little fox could do was stare at everything in confusion while trying to not take a whiff at some of the strange combinations of chilidogs. Tails shuddered and stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"Well, I'm only doing this for you Sonic. So you owe me," he said, slyly glaring at him while elbowing his blue friend in the ribs. Sonic returned the sly glare at Tails and both erupted in cheery laughter.

 _"Fine,"_ he said, squinting at him, his brow twitching in annoyance while doing a half grin.

"Maybe I'll take you to an awesome Science Convention next time!" Tails declared, shooting the hedgehog a playful grin. The response he got was an eye roll and a low groan. The fox put a hand to his mouth as he giggled.

The pair continued to walk throughout the convention gaily as Sonic continued to squeal like a little girl at every dog he hungrily stared at.

"Only if Amy was here to see you now, _Sonic_ ," Tails whispered into his ear, causing Sonic to flinch at her name being mentioned. "Boy, she sure has some competition!" Tails laughed at Sonic while Sonic gave an irritated glare at his bro, shaking his head in his smart comment.

"Very funny, but she needs to work harder," Sonic retorted. "Only chilidogs are my one true love." Sonic's mouth began to drool as he fantasized about an ocean of chilidogs. His tail began to wag in elation. Tails gave Sonic a strange look and snapped his fingers, bringing Sonic back to reality. Tails shook his head whilst watching his friend recover from his chilidog fantasy.

* * *

"Doctor? D-Doctor? Please stop," begged a shaky red robot from behind the Doctor.

The Doctor ignored his comment and laughed maniacally. Not only did he inject a serum into the mouse, but he injected it into all sorts of other animals. There was a wild ruckus in the lab. Animal screeches exploded in the room as they all began to smash their heads against the container like hooligans. The noise was unbearable for the two robots behind him. They winced at the suffering of the poor animals as they continued to forcefully thrust their heads forward in rage, wanting to get to the Doctor.

The robots backed away further, horrified at the mad—no _insane_ Doctor accomplishing his inner-most darkest desires. The Doctor shrieked in pure bliss at the momentum of his pace in his experimentation, refusing to stop.

"Excellent! This is wonderful!" he bellowed, sweeping his hand upwards. "This is wonderful! I have discovered something nobody has discovered before! A new era, Orbot and Cubot! Don't you see?" he spat, whipping around ferociously to eye his two robots. "Why waste time on that _rodent_ when I can discover new ways to experiment on living things!" The Doctor continued laugh, his sound causing the robots to shiver in fear. Their bolts and screws began to click against each other as their body shook vigorously. The Doctor chuckled at their cowardice.

"Ahahaahh!" he cried. "Nobody can stop me this time!"

"Please, Doctor!" pleaded a new voice from across the room. A petrified male Mobian sat in a chair, frozen and immobilized from the rope that held him against the chair he rested upon. The Mobian's eyes are large with fear as he continued to stare at the Doctor, silently pleading for this to be over. He didn't struggle for he was slightly sedated.

"Like the rotten piece of animal that you are!" he barked at his face, causing the Mobian to scream and shrink in his seat. The Mobian trembled madly, his heart kicking against his ribs as it tried to break free. His adrenaline spiraled to its peak, causing him to breathe at a heightened pace. Drops of sweat lingered at the side of his face.

"Please! Stop! Why are you doing this?" he managed weakly, sobbing uncontrollably.

The Doctor began to smile cruelly, stroking the fine piece of hair below his nose in deep thought, observing the helpless Mobian. Behind his back, he pulled his hand away from his other hand to reveal a rather large, and extremely pointy, syringe. The tip of the syringe glistened against the light. The Mobian's eyes grew larger and he began to tug at the ropes around him but the Doctor ordered his robots to hold him down.

The Mobian cried louder. Orbot watched in horror as his master lifted the syringe to the Mobian's neck.

"Stop… Please…"

"Doctor," Orbot mumbled, his optics fixated on his careful master.

With a swift move, he plunged the syringe into the Mobian's neck. Cubot gasped as his hands flew to his face. Orbot continued to stare, traumatized by his master's actions. The Mobian continued to scream in pain as the serum began to spread, his body twitching like a manic puppet as his eyes began to haze, obscuring his vision. The serum worked its way into his bloodstream, searching for his core organ. His voice transformed into a gruff, throaty moan and his body began to stop the twitch. The Doctor slowly withdrew his hand and stepped back to observe his new specimen. The Mobian grew limp and his head hung low, as if in a meditative pose with his hands clasped tightly together.

 _He looks so peaceful,_ thought Orbot. But his thoughts were interrupted when the Mobian's eyes flew open, full of rage, animosity. A sense of hostility radiated from the Mobian and Orbot and Cubot backed away forcefully, horrified at the monster.

Suddenly a shrill cry came from the Mobian as he began to jerk vigorously, snapping his jaws at the unmoved Doctor, who merely smiled at his work. It was as if he was possessed by a demon. The Mobian continued to shriek, like the rest of the animals, and the lab was in utter chaos. The Doctor stroked his mustache as his body heaved, laughing maniacally at his wondrous discovery. He shrieked along with his text subjects and stomped his feet in joy at his success.

Orbot and Cubot exchanged glances with worried, and fearful, expressions.

 _This isn't the Doctor. This isn't him at all!_

 _What happened to him?_

 _What went wrong?_

 _Doctor…_

* * *

Strolling through the mall was a dream for Amy Rose, but not when your arms were barely holding on to the amount of huge bags while trying not to look like a wobbly idiot. Amy struggled to walk as the bags she carried were a barricade for her eyes, thus she can't see where she's going. Other people had gently asked if she needed assistance but the hedgehog politely shook her head. Despite her struggle, she managed to shuffle to a nearby cafe and she hastily plopped down on a chair. She heaved and bent down to exhale. At her feet, a bunch of shopping bags crowded her feet, as if she was a rockstar and they were the audience. She shook her head wearily as a Human waitress went over to the exhausted girl.

"Would you like something to drink, madam?" she politely asked, smiling widely. Her teeth were gleaming white and her lips red as blood.

 _You think?_ Amy thought squinting at the waitress but she quickly hid it and smiled back sheepishly trying to look like a precious little angel.

"Yes, um, a glass of water is just fine," she said cheerfully, masking the agitation in her tone. The waitress left and Amy sighed deeply.

"I wish Cream were here to help, or Vanilla. Ooh, why didn't I ask for them to come with me?" Amy asked herself, doing a facepalm. "Well," she said at her shopping treasure haul, "now I can show my Sonikku all my new clothes and accessories! I even bought him a dashing fedora." Amy pulled the hat out and set it on her head, making a smirk, as if to imitate her hero. She giggled. "Oh he'll look so handsome!" She clasped her hands together admiringly and gave a love struck sigh. Amy sat down, waiting for her water.

"Miss Amy!" a high-pitched voice cried out to her from in front. Amy turned her head sharply at the voice and her weary lips turns into a wide smile. A cute little rabbit girl skipped in place and ran towards the pink hedgehog, her ears fluttering behind her rapidly.

"Cream!" she exclaimed, standing up instantly. "Cream, Cream, Cream! I need your mother!" Amy looked around frantically for the elder rabbit. Cream immediately halted and stared at Amy.

"She's in the bathroom," she chirped. Cream smiled then took notice of Amy's haul and mouthed a 'wow', then shifted her caramel eyes to Amy's emerald ones. Amy's eyes sparkled with exhaustion but also happiness at the sight of the tiny rabbit. Amy closed her eyes.

"Yeah, I know." Amy's eyes suddenly opened in realization as her breath became shorter and her eyes darted back and forth across the mall, searching for the rabbit. She clenched her jaw and started fidgeting her fingers.

 _Oh no, what if Vanilla has bags of her own? How am I gonna do more shopping now? Ooh I hope her hands are empty!_ Amy's eyes were wide with anxiety and she sat down, hopeless and defeated. Cream stared at her awkwardly and placed a gentle paw on Amy's pink ones, comforting the girl. Amy's eyes lighted up at the young rabbit and her act of comfort. Amy sighed.

"Are you okay, Miss Amy?" she asked innocently, bringing her face close to Amy's to get a better view of the hedgehog. Amy chuckled lightly and nodded, stroking Cream's ears. Cream giggled and threw her arms around Amy, causing Amy to smile sheepishly as she returned the hug.

* * *

"Yes, with an army like this, I can conquer cities, and the world!" he concluded wickedly, rubbing his hands together at the thought of his plan. The Doctor shook with laughter and turned to face the beakers and flasks that were burning and boiling. He picked up a dropper filled with strange substances and lowered it towards a container filled with the same liquid in the syringe he had used before. Sweat had deposited at the side of his face as she placed a steady hand over the container, not wanting to drop too much into the liquid.

"Add more, add more!" he told himself, chuckling madly. "The effects would be stronger! They would be more powerful and invincible!"

Orbot and Cubot continued to stare, so fearful of what the master might do if they'd tried to stop him. But deep down, both robots desired to end this monstrosity and madness the Doctor had executed for the past few months. He had always been cooped up in his lab all day without rest. Orbot's desires boiled inside his metallic chest, but he couldn't bring himself to end it. This feeling made him immensely agitated and he wanted to punch himself.

 _Selfish robot,_ he told himself, closing his eyes in disappointment. Cubot placed a shaky hand on his friend's arm to assure him that he feels the same way. Both of them looked at each other before their optics maneuvered to glance at the Doctor again. Both robots hovered underneath a table to shield themselves from the insane Doctor, who truly frightened the poor robots.

The Doctor continued to laugh and wave his arms around, losing his conscience at his flourishing experiments and tests and began to feel giddy. He continued to wave his arms until his fingers grazed the container, sending it to fall. The robots watched in horror as the container was sent crashing towards the other flasks with liquids in them. The Doctor lurched forward to grab the container but his hand came in contact with a Bunsen burner, causing his hand to be consumed in flames. He screamed in agony and the robots covered their optics, wanting this nightmare to stop.

 _Doctor, why?_

* * *

"Hey, Shadow," purred a white bat into her communicator as she flew above the city, watching a black hedgehog run beneath her. A black and red blur zoomed through the streets with amazing speed. "Aren't we supposed to be back at HQ?" She smirked at the hedgehog and tilted her body to lower herself at his level. The wind caressed her face and wings, sending a light chill down her spine.

Shadow didn't reply and merely rolled his eyes, ignoring his partner's flying presence beside him.

"C'mon, we seriously have to go," she said bluntly, trying to get him to face her. She couldn't imagine what the Commander might say or do if he found out that the both of them had been ignoring their original orders. Rouge shook her head in dismay as he shot past her, but her dismay disappeared as he stopped, made a swift turn and ran towards her like an enraged bull at a bull fight in Spain.

"Ah!" she yelled and quickly soared to the sky as he darted beneath her, barely touching her metallic shoes. Shadow turned to look at the bat as she made a graceful loop from her sharp flight upwards when she avoided him. He smirked at her and slowed his pace. Rouge lowered herself again and joined her partner's side.

Rouge noticed his smirk and smirked back, charmed by his rare smile.

"What? Like my flying? I'm better than the fox y'know?" she teased, doing a mid-air twirl as her aqua eyes danced with playfulness. Shadow rolled his eyes playfully and sped faster than her to give her his own tease. Rouge opened her mouth to protest but shut it and flew to catch up with her partner, flapping her dark wings desperately. Her streamlined body proved to be quite useful in flight, with sharp precision and swift maneuvering, Rouge admired the power of flight. It gave her a sense of freedom like no other. She could go anywhere. She smiled as a burst of freedom exploded inside her heart like an bomb.

Both partners went through the city and back to HQ, where their strict Commander stood, awaiting their presence.

* * *

"Doctor! Doctor!" cried Orbot as he rushed to aid his master, extending his lanky arms forward. He approached the Doctor cautiously, but his master did not stir. He lay unconscious at the table. Orbot shifted his optics to his fully burned hand. Crimson blood flowed from his hand and pooled at the floor below. Orbot winced at the ghastly sight.

Suddenly like a bunch of squawking parrots, all the animals, and the Mobian, screeched madly and violently like madmen in an asylum, banging their heads and arms against the container. Small cracks began to form at the area of impact. Orbot, noticing the cracks, fearfully backed away and dragged Cubot along with him.

"No, no no no!" he cried desperately, but the animals took no notice of the robots. Both watched in pure horror as the cracks gave a final shatter, and the animals, and Mobian, burst through the container in their ravaging glory, roaring ruthlessly like barbaric warriors.

 _Oh no._

* * *

 ** _OKAY guys, hope you liked the first taste of this series! I'm very excited to write this because I need to get all my ideas out. Sorry If I confused you, but I will make this series slightly confusing on purpose just for youuu. Heh, heh. REMEMBER, i try to view everything in a more realistic sense so the characters WILL be slightly out of character. Anyways, remember to comment/review/ask questions! Thanks for reading! :) Buh Bye! :D_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Heyo I'm back for another round of We Have to Survive! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! ^^ Please stay tuned for more chapters to come! Anyways, like I said, characters are out of character, mildly, no pairings, mild language, realistic setting, unaffected by Sonic '06. By the way, Rouge isn't scared, she's just shaken. C'mon, what happens if you learned that there was a zombie outbreak? Now, ENJOY! :D**

* * *

Chapter 2: The Outbreak

 _Doctor…_

 _Doctor, why…?_

 _Why'd you do it…?_

 _Doctor…_

* * *

 _Two days later…_

" _Good afternoon everyone, I'm your host Judy Benson for today on Mobian World News. Just today a bunch of delusional looking people have been sighted on several places at once reported by a few eye witnesses. They have been described as voracious and barbaric and will attack anything and anyone on sight. So far they have attacked over 50 people in this city, yet the number still increases. We do not know how it happened or when it happened but the remaining citizens are advised to evacuate immediately. The Mobian Police Force is currently investigating this situation. If necessary, the Military will have to be deployed. Some roads have been-"_

"Turn it off, please," said a low, gruff voice behind a tall dark chair. As ordered, his secretary turned the radio off. The sound of the radio was incredibly irritating to him. Anymore of this "zombie" business he will have to punch his secretary for goodness sake. He rubbed his temples slowly, his eyes were heavy, and his heart was pounding wildly in his chest. Yet, visibly, he was completely steadfast, solemn and grim. His face was lined with heavy stress wrinkles.

"Call Agent Rouge and Agent Shadow for me," he ordered, disturbance etched in this tone. He let out a deep sigh.

"Yes, sir." With that his secretary left, her heeled shoes echoed throughout his office as he heard the large heavy door close behind him.

* * *

"Did you hear the news today, Tails?" asked Sonic as he and the fox sauntered along the sidewalk on their way for the last day of the Chilidog Convention.

"Yup, but it's probably a bunch of made up stuff. There are no such things as zombies," Tails replied curtly, rolling his eyes. "These news people are crazy. It's not possible for the dead to come back to life."

"Dude, they can be right too, y'know," Sonic defended, crossing his arms and eyeing his little brother. They both slowed their pace until they stopped in front of the convention, and Sonic turned to face Tails, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"If they are, why aren't we evacuating? Why aren't _they_ evacuating?" The fox turned to face his friend and raised an eyebrow at him and pointed his fingers at the people in the Convention. Sonic chuckled, his blue quills bounced as he chuckled. He placed a hand on his hip and sneered at his partner. Tails shot him an unconvinced look.

"One, I'd _love_ to kick zombie butt, and two, maybe they haven't heard the news. After all, only a few people were injured out of the thousands of people in this city."

"The numbers increased, Sonic!" Tails blurted, crossing his arms huskily and turned to look away. He wrapped his tails around his legs, embarrassed of the argument they had performed.

Sonic shook his head and gently argued, "Tails, I know how much of a smart guy you are and try to see the science in everything, but would the news _really_ lie?" Tails slowly turned to face his best friend, his blue eyes full of uncertainty. He lowered his eyes to look at Sonic's chest, obviously avoiding Sonic's gaze. Could the media be always trusted though? Tails didn't know what to feel and his brain felt conflicted. He scrunched his face, skeptical. Sonic's always so optimistic, but his optimism can sometimes blind him if he's not careful. Perhaps they're wrong, Sonic. You don't hear that kind of news everyday.

Sonic saw the shift in his eyes and smiled warmly.

"Tails-" he began, but his warm smile suddenly changed into a worried expression as his ears twitched at a sound he had caught far off into the distance. Tails looked up sharply too and twitched his own pair of ears. Sonic's eyes darted back and forth, trying to determine the sound.

"I'm starting to think that you're right!" Tails expressed with worry, suddenly turning around to determine the sound too. Both boys also noted the sudden wave of silence that washed over the people at the convention. The obstreperous crowd had eerily gone dead silent as everyone picked up the sound.

Sonic sprang forward, ready to fight. Tails fluttered into the air, hovering beside the heroic hedgehog.

"What was that?" whispered someone.

"I don't know… Is it true?"

"What's going on?"

"Calm down!" Sonic cried, waving his arms at the people. "Tails," he ordered, turning his attention to the equally as shocked fox, "to the sky buddy! See if you can spot anything."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Tails agreed, saluting to Sonic before ascending upwards. Sonic watched his friend soar above the houses, and Tails saw a swarm of… _something_ running forwards just beyond the horizon. They were spreading everywhere and some were even coming closer to the people at the Convention. Tails let out a sharp gasp as he purposely dropped downwards rapidly, his bushy tails whipping behind him, and hovered beside Sonic again. His tails twirled around each other in quick succession.

"Sonic!" he cried, eyes wide with horror as he clutched his chest. "You're right! They're here!" Sonic's eyes grew wider and he turned ferociously towards the zombies.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath. A surge of heroism swelled in his chest, determined to fight whatever was coming. Sonic let out a low growl. Tails' feet touched the ground as he readied himself in fighting stance as well.

Sudden clamorous shouts and shrieks were sounded as all around as a crowd of zombies barged through the convention, ripping apart the tables and chairs. Sonic and Tails gasped loudly as they saw the zombies clamber over the tables, bringing out their inner fury. They snapped at he people, causing the lot to flee desperately. But many of them were caught in the zombie's clutches. Sharp screams pierced the air and Sonic winced at the sound. He crouched on the ground and barred his fangs.

"Shit!" he cried, louder this time. Sonic bounced into the air and dived down on a zombie, crushing its skull. The zombie let out a gruff cry before its air was cut off by the crushing of its own kull. All around the people screamed as the zombies attacked mindlessly, ripping into their flesh ruthlessly. People cried in pain and at the sight of their hands and feet being mutilated by the zombies. Blood spewed everywhere until the grass was stained, dripping onto the sidewalk. A mark that could never be washed away. Tails wanted to puke but he has to stay strong. Gifted with flight, he lifted off, avoiding the zombies.

Sonic, like as if he retained his were-hog form, pounced on the zombies and used his feet to smash their heads. With one swift swing of his feet, a zombie was knocked from its feet and tumbled onto the blood-stained grass. Screams were still piercing in the air. All of a sudden gunshots could be heard and Tails let out a surprised cry.

"Sonic! Behind you!" warned Tails as a zombie raced towards the unsuspecting hog. Sonic, at the sound of his friend's voice, whipped around and punched the zombie's jaw. The zombie flew backwards and struck the road where cars swerved wobbly, trying to avoid the zombies that climbed all over the car. Tire wheels screeched sharply as a pile of cars collided with each other, causing an enormous road barricade. Car horns went off and the zombies went into a frenzy, scrambling towards the cars as the people inside panicked, trapped by fear.

"How's there so many so fast?!" Tails asked, looking around frantically at the massive spurge of zombies that came from everywhere. All around, people fled for their lives, running away to nowhere. Escape was the only thing locked in their minds.

"Tails!" Sonic called. "It's no use! There's too many! I can't hold 'em off all at once! These people cannot be saved! We need help!" Tails nodded and flew off quickly, zipping into the air until he was just a speck in the sky. Sonic glanced at his partner's departure, hoping that someone could at least help him.

* * *

"With the current zombie situation at hand, all agents are required to undergo a thorough checkup for any wounds or infections," explained a man wearing glasses.

Shadow and Rouge stood beside each other outside the HQ, both partners unsure of what to say at the situation. Shadow had retained a calm but heavy composure, while his partner, Rouge, was quite shaken from the zombies. She lightly brushed her fingers against her right arm to comfort herself. She took a peek at Shadow to see if he had stirred, but he remained still.

 _How the hell did that happen?_

Rouge shook her head wearily and stared at the ground, looking at her shadow.

"Come, follow me inside. It's much safer here. No zombies would be able to infiltrate this building," said a low, husky voice as a tall man came into view. He peered down at the two agents that stood before him. One was visibly hard, but the other was visibly shaken. He arched his eyebrows at her.

"Commander," they both managed. They raised their hand to salute to him. Rouge winced at the look he was giving her and looked away.

"Shadow, Rouge," he acknowledged. He turned to leave and beckoned for the pair to follow him. Shadow and Rouge exchanged glances, then without any complain, obeyed his command.

"This is Kimberly, and this is Daniel," he began, motioning his hand towards a Human woman and a Human man. "They will be the ones to perform the checkup. You'll separate now, and please, follow them." The Commander remained calm and serious, but a hint of worry tainted his voice. Both Mobians could detect it. As commanded, Shadow and Rouge followed their human attendants. Upon departure, Rouge turned around to glance at the black-and-red hog, silently praying that nothing would come. She had desperately wanted Shadow to be beside her.

 _Why are you so afraid, Rouge? Shadow's not scared._ But Rouge couldn't help but feel so... alone. In a world that is about to crumble, hope seems lost. Lives have been destroyed and for what? Nothing. The bat couldn't help but feel useless. Her job requires her to help others, yet here she is.

Both agents followed their respectful attendants to a tiny room filled with one bench and several medical tools needed for a checkup.

As soon as the door closed behind her, Rouge let out a heavy sigh, abruptly sitting down on the bench. Kim jumped at her sudden movement and smiled weakly.

"Please, you need to stand."

The bat groaned but chose to obey nonetheless, if it means to quickly get over it. She stood up briskly. Her mind was swirling with so many different kinds of thoughts. She couldn't snap out of it. She was, distracted.

"Remove your clothes please." At her words, Rouge jerked her head backwards and stared at Kim, blinking her eyes slowly.

"E-Excuse me?" Rouge blurted. Kim widened her eyes at the bat's sudden hostility and quickly rephrased her words. She knew that Rouge didn't mean it, after all everyone currently felt shaken.

"Well, it has to be a thorough checkup since... you know," Kim responded, looking away with burden illuminated in her eyes. Rouge stared at her solemnly.

 _She must feel scared too._ Suddenly she began to empathize with her. What was she thinking? She's not the only one who felt shaken. Heck, maybe Kim had lost her family too. Rouge nodded her head softly and reached for the zipper on her back. Her wings fluttered behind her as she tried to find the zipper.

After a while, she fully unclothed herself. She stood there in her pile of clothes, exposed and naked. Well, she was still wearing her underwear. Her body shivered as a light breeze from the A/C caressed her naked skin. As Kim observed her, her muzzle became tainted with red. The woman noticed her embarrassment and lightly giggled.

"We're girls, Rouge," she implied. Rouge rolled her eyes as a playful grunt escaped her throat.

"Yeah yeah, I know." She shifted uncomfortably in her position as Kim neared her and began to examine her arms. Finally, it all was silent. For a long period of time, neither women spoke to each other. Both women probably felt that talking was of no assistance to the current dilemma. A heavy sigh left her mouth as she relaxed her posture. The bat closed her blue-lidded eyes, full of distraught.

 _How the hell did this happen?_

It was just yesterday when everything was... fine. Nobody even knew that there were zombies roaming the area. She and Shadow were in the middle of a mission together and she enjoyed her day yesterday. Even though the mission was slightly difficult, at least Shadow was with her. She even got to peek at the new jewelry store downtown, although the agitated hedgehog had to drag her away, leaving a trail of broken hearts from the bat. Rouge's lips curled up slightly at the pleasant memory. But that memory soon faded and her smile transformed, decorated with forlorn.

 _And then they came, all of a sudden. We couldn't even help. The Commander strictly forbade us to interfere with the attacks. We could've helped them, but we were ordered to return immediately. Stupid Commander._

Rouge's brows furrowed slightly and she turned her head to look behind her as a wave a paranoia hit her. Kim continued to examine her body closely, to check for any signs of damage. Even though Rouge and Shadow never encountered the zombies, the checkup was still vital nonetheless. The Commander had stated that he didn't want any form of "zombification" present the HQ. He couldn't allow the risk.

Rouge's eyes were still shut, and her ears were unintentionally erect. She could feel Kim's fingers lightly dancing all over her body, which made her shiver. Rouge tried to push some nasty thoughts away, ashamed for having such vile thoughts. For a moment, the curse of silence was still cast upon the women and everything seemed fine.

Suddenly, her large, dish like ears picked up a faint sound from behind. Rouge gasped loudly and popped her eyes open. Her teal eyes flared up in response. She made a sudden movement and Kim jolted, gasping as well. Kim wobbled backwards, then her her butt kissed the floor.

"R-Rouge!" she stuttered, trying to figure out what just happened. The bat's wings fluttered excitedly.

"Shh! Be quiet!" Rouge ordered, placing a finger on the woman's lips. Kim looked at the finger that now lay atop her lips and then looked at the startled bat.

Rouge lifted her head to listen closely, her ears twitching madly. Her eyes were wide with concentration.

 _Oh no, please tell me no..._

Rouge bit her lip as more faint sounds could be heard. Gunshots were sounded and voices were yelling loudly. Kim stared at her questioningly and opened her mouth to speak, but Rouge's finger pressed harder against her pink lips. Inside her chest, Rouge's heart began to quicken its pace. She placed a shaky hand on her stomach to calm herself, then slowly turned to face Kim. Her teal eyes displayed shock, and Kim began to panic. She hastily stood up and backed away into a corner, forcing herself against the concrete wall in a desperate attempt to get away from them.

"No, no!" Kim cried. Rouge gave her a piercing glare, telling her to shut up. Kim, surprised, shut her mouth and remained silent.

The graceful bat slowly stepped off from her pile of clothes and tip-toed to the door, so fearful of making even the slightest noise. She had hoped the zombies wouldn't be provoked by sound. She hid behind the opaque wall and peered through the transparent door. As she did, the strange moaning sounds increased in volume and Rouge trembled slightly. She could hear a desperate sob coming from the woman. Rouge continue to spy and as she did, sudden loud footsteps were emitted down the hallway, and the footsteps got louder as it came closer to the room until finally, a figure rushed past the room. Rouge and Kim held their breath, then silence. The bat's heart began to race like a horse. Sweat formed at the side of her head due to her mild panic. Rouge closed her eyes in relief that the zombie missed them, but she quickly broke away from the wall and began to pick her clothes up. She slowly dressed herself, and as she did, Kim came to a terrifying revelation: they were coming and Rouge was preparing to escape.

Kim bit her lip to stifle a cry as her hand flew to her mouth. Fear boiled and bubbled inside the woman, and it tore her insides apart. Tears streamed down her face until Rouge looked up and shot her a comforting look to calm her down, then resumed to her dressing. Kim tried to pace her breathing to calm herself.

As she dressed, her ears picked up the faint sounds increasing in volume and she rushed her progress. At this point, Rouge's guts twisted in turmoil which caused her body to ache so terribly.

 _Stupid suit, why you gotta be so tight?_

"Kim, Kim, listen. I need you to stay calm and stay quiet for me, okay?" Rouge whispered, giving her stern look to assert authority. Kim shakily nodded her head, still plastered against the wall. Rouge knew what she was doing. As long as she stayed quiet, walk to the nearby window, open it, pick Kim up, then fly out, it'll be easy. Rouge exhaled sharply and jumped lightly in preparation. She needed to be quick or else the zombie that shot past would return, as the hallway ahead of this room lead to a dead end.

 _Stay calm Rouge, stay calm. It'll be easy._

She finally finished zipping her suit and looked at herself, then back at the horrified attendant. She approached Kim and extended an arm out for her to reach.

"Kim, don't panic. I'm going to bring you to the nearby window, then open it, pick you up, then fly, okay? Bear with me. Please don't make a sound."

Kim nodded her head and took Rouge's arm as she finally broke away from the wall she grew so attached to. Rouge herself was feeling rather queasy and her breaths were short and fast. Rouge let out another deep exhale, then proceeded to walk out the door.

She placed a careful hand on the door and pushed it open, whilst being attentive to the nearby doorway where the stairs that led to this room were. Her ears were erect and her feet were nimble as she and Kim lightly strode across the short hall to the window. Both women could hear the zombie's groans growing louder near the doorway, as light footsteps maneuvered heavily across the stairs.

Kim shot Rouge a frightened look and tugged on her arm, panicking helplessly. Rouge approached the window and placed a hand on the glass. With no lock present, how were they supposed to open the window?

"Uh, Rouge?"

Rouge backed away then lurched forward, and with one rapid move, she thrust her leg forward, making the window shatter.

"Rouge!"

The sudden sound alerted the zombies right away and their senses heightened as they try to get to the origin of the sound. Their thunderous footsteps climaxed, and their rumbly snarls grew louder. Kim winced at the sound. The lone zombie that ran past could be heard coming closer as well.

Rouge, with one swift move, placed her hands under Kim's legs and swept Kim off her feet.

"Whoah!"

The zombie's cries were loud and horrific. Their sound sent chills down Kim's spine. It was unbearable. Kim wanted to scream but she couldn't. Her voice was nowhere to be found. She trembled terribly in Rouge's arms as she sobbed lightly, wanting this to be over. Her heart had tore her chest apart, gnashing away at her ribs, trying to break free. Rouge's own heart pounded endlessly, and the bat let out a shaky breath.

Rouge then carried her towards the window and, reluctantly, sat on the sill. She grimaced as the sharp broken glass pierced through her skin but that doesn't matter right now! Rouge prepared to fall backwards just as the zombies bursted through the doorway, snapping their jaws at the women, full of animosity. Their cloudy eyes sent knives into Kim's eyes and she screamed, unable to contain her fear.

At that, Rouge fell backwards, dragging Kim along as well. Both women were sent plummeting towards the ground. Kim's screams increased as tears began to leave her eyes.

But Rouge of course won't let her fall, and she swiftly opened her wings, swooping upwards elegantly. Huzzah! Success. She gave a loud cheer at her escape as the wind embraced her fur, sending a light adrenaline rush throughout the bat's slim figure. She flew towards the building's roof, hoping that the zombie's didn't reach there yet. As she flew upwards, a determined smile crept on her face. She couldn't believe it. She made it. She actually made it.

 _When you really are desperate, getting caught by a zombie is the farthest thing from your mind._

Rouge hadn't think at all during the escape, which enabled her to bravely walk out and smash the window. She gave an uneasy laugh at her unbelievable success.

Kim shook violently in her arms, clutching onto the bat with all of her life. She couldn't bear to peer at the ground. Kim buried her face into Rouge's, ahem, chest and muffled her cries.

The bat approached the roof and her heart immediately stopped with relief when she saw a black-and-red hedgehog perched on the roof, patient and clearly unshaken. Rouge let out a weary, but alleviated, cry to grab his attention. He sharply turned his head at the sound and his ruby eyes reflected relief.

"Rouge," Shadow breathed at the sight of his partner. She touched the roof and immediately settled Kim down. The Human, instead of standing up, shakily collapsed, visibly horrified at the encounter. Shadow stared the Human woman, confused as to why there was a Human with her.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" Kim sobbed, pulling an arm up to her face to conceal her cries. She wailed uncontrollably, shocked from the life threatening experience.

"Shadow!" Rouge panted, rushing towards her partner.

"Rouge, you're safe!" he expressed, full of relief. He turned to face the bat. He could see her teal eyes completely flooded with horror. He was about to make another comment when Rouge grabbed his arm forcefully, still shaken from the escape. He jumped back at her sudden action.

"S-Shadow, h-how'd you escape?" she asked, her voice faltering. She panted heavily, Shadow had noted. Her eyes stared deeply into Shadow's, sending a twang of pity into the hedgehog's heart.

"I used Chaos Control," he answered. Rouge simply stared at him, bewildered at his nonchalant reply.

"That's it?"

"Yes."

Rouge looked away and sighed wearily, letting go of Shadow's arm. Her iron grip left nail marks on his arm, and he gently brushed his fingers over the marks.

Silence fell upon the pair for some time, and at the background, Kim's sob began to diminish. All around, the sounds of harsh growls and snarls could be heard from below as more gunshots penetrated the harsh and gloomy atmosphere. Shadow slowly made his way towards the quivering bat.

"There were so many," he said, breaking the burdensome silence. "Where did they come from?" His red eyes flitted back and forth as he pondered on that thought. He crossed his arms, flustered. His red streaks stood vibrant under the soft glow of the sunlight peaking from beneath the clouds that blanketed the sky.

"I don't know. I'm thinking the same," she responded, glancing miserably at her partner.

"I don't understand. And nothing makes sense so far. Those zombies proved to be nothing to me," Shadow mused. Rouge's lustrous teal eyes were not so lustrous this round. Shadow noticed her miserable glance and inched closer towards her, as a sign of consolation.

Rouge smiled gently and shifted her weight on her right leg, placing delicate hand on her wide hips. Shadow gave her a look at her sudden mood change.

"Let's get outta here, Shadz." Rouge gave a warm smile at Shadow, and he smiled at her in agreement, his ruby eyes piercing into hers.

"Yeah, agreed." Shadow and Rouge advanced to the edge of the roof

"Wait! Let me come with you!" Kim yelled, reaching for the bat. Rouge took an uneasy step back at her shrill voice. Kim was still utterly shaken, as she knelt on the ground in a pool of hopelessness. Rouge turned to look at Shadow, searching for the hedgehog's approval. Shadow, at Rouge's glance, rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine, she can come."

"Oh thank you!" she cried, standing up. She smiled tearfully, hastily wiping the tears from her eyes.

"We can sneak into the G.U.N. Military section to steal one of their vehicles," the hedgehog planned, gazing far into the distance wistfully.

"Steal? I don't exactly do that anymore, Shadow. If you're trying to turn me in," Rouge joked, glaring playfully at his back. She crossed her arms too, a little bored.

"I'm not," he asserted. "Unless that's a plea for death, we're stealing." Rouge liked it when Shadow became stern and tried to assert authority.

"Okaay," she slurred, travelling to the edge of the roof. Shadow motioned for Kim to come too, and the petrified woman skipped over to the Mobians.

"Kim, hold my arm," Rouge told her. The woman silently obeyed and gripped tightly onto the bat, earning a tiny wince from the bat. Shadow then wrapped his arm around Rouge's waist and stared ahead.

"Chaos Control!"

* * *

Loud, terrifying screams punctured the air as ultimately horrified Mobians and Humans ran for their lives, away from the gnarly, teeth-slashing, ruthless-minded zombies that were splattered all over the mall. Many shops have been demolished, and so many lives have been lost, or turned into one of _them_. Many people had been pushed against walls just to try to elude them, but to no avail. No matter what, these zombies could always get their hands on innocent lives. They carried the blood of the ones they have annihilated, a symbol of utter cruelty, with no penchant of life. The mall was in incredible havoc, a party that took a horrid turn. This party, however, has just begun.

With a swing of her powerful Piko Piko Hammer, a zombie was sent flying across the mall, crashing into a shop. A rough groan escaped the zombie's throat upon impact. Its blood spewed everywhere, tainting the glass with red. Amy panted heavily as she tried to battle against a horde of zombies on her own. Behind her, Cream and Vanilla cowered in fear, dependent on the pink hedgehog to protect them at all costs. Their quivering cries sent a chill that rippled through the girl's tiny frame. Amy felt that it was her duty to do just that, but defeating these zombies was certainly energy consuming, and her legs began to tire tremendously.

"I-I can't take this," she gasped, her throat aching as well. She dropped to the floor as the zombies began prepared to engulf her. Her heart was beating feverishly, and she gasped for air. Her arms ached terribly from holding her hammer for too long. She let out frustrated groan.

"Amy, please! Help us!" the rabbits begged, tugging on Amy.

"I'm trying, I'm trying," she pleaded, clutching her dominant arm. Tears streamed down her face as she stood up weakly, putting on a bold front to give courage to the rabbits. Amy gripped tightly to her hammer and swung it over her shoulder.

"You're going to pay for this!" she hissed at them, preparing to launch her devastating blow.

 _How could this be? Where did they come from? What on earth is happening? Why now?_

"Gaahh!" she cried. As she did, her hammer flew from her shoulder and smashed the face of a zombie. Blood spluttered in all directions. Vanilla and Cream wailed loudly at the sickly sight.

Amy continued her attacks, doing her best to knock these zombies flat to the ground.

It was astonishing, really. Hordes of mindless monsters roamed the area. They swarmed everywhere, like bugs, and just... attacked. Amy knew something was wrong when a loud scream had sounded and several people were running away from _something_. Then the alarm rang. That was an obvious sign that something disastrous had happened. Amy had panicked at first and instantly pulled out her enormous hammer. Then out of nowhere, the zombies arrived and completely transformed this place into a crazy living Hell. Disaster!

The zombies growled and hissed at the girl, but she stood tall, coated with bravery in all aspects. She was surely a force to be reckoned with. No wonder Sonic's so afraid of her. Immense fury began to grow inside as she proceeded to unleash it.

But she threw her spotlight on the zombies, and paid no attention to the rabbits behind her. She had almost forgotten they were there. But with her mind so obsessed with her goal of smashing zombies, she didn't realize the mistake she had done. One small mistake that slid right beneath her, and she didn't notice it.

In seconds, the zombies had seized the rabbits and dragged them away. Amy's emerald eyes widened with sudden realization and whipped around. How could she have been so careless?

"Cream! Vanilla!" she screamed, extending her arms to them. Her hammer fell to the ground as she rushed forward and grabbed Vanilla's arm.

"Amy, my daughter! Save her first!" she wailed, pushing the pink hedgehog away. "Argh!" Pain shot through Vanilla's body as the zombies clawed and tore her skin. Blood flowed from her wounds and she cried harder. "Amy!" Her beautiful clothes were ripped to shreds.

"Miss Amy! Help!"

Amy ran to Cream and tugged at her arm, trying to pull the poor girl away from the zombies clutches.

"Ngghh!"

But those zombies were powerful, too powerful.

 _How are they stronger than me? Aren't they... dead?_

"Hold on, Cream! I-I can pull you. I can!"

Cream wailed as the zombies pulled the other direction. Her arm was beginning to sting badly. She bit her lip to hold back her tears, but they fell like a waterfall. Amy sprang up and pounced on the zombie, kicking it with her feet. The zombie fell back, but more zombies stood in its path. On her right, Vanilla was still wailing in pain.

 _There's just too many!_

Amy tried to her best to defend both, but she herself began to tire.

 _I-I can't breathe!_

Amy resumed her defense for the rabbits, but each time she defended one, the other became worse, and the cycle repeats. It's just no use. One girl against a zombie gang, all by herself? All the security guards had fallen prey and she was certainly surprised that she hasn't fallen into their hands just yet. She should be thankful she's alive.

But Amy gathered all her willpower and her strength and focused on defending Cream, at the orders of her mother.

But fighting was no use, more will come anyway. It cannot be avoided. She could save herself and let them die, or she could stay and fight until she dies. Either way, neither rabbit would be saved. Oh how her two choices clashed so greatly.

"Argh! Why?"

Amy shook her head, highly unsure of what she should do. But Amy, the more you stall by trying to figure it out, eventually you will end up with your second choice.

 _Uggh what do I do?! Oh, Sonic please help me._

Sadly, the fight seemed in vain when Amy and Cream horrifyingly witnessed the elder rabbit being bitten by a zombie. Its teeth sunk into her healthy flesh, biting away at her muscles and tendons. Blood erupted from her wound like a volcano, and she jerked violently. The serum contained in the zombie's saliva surged through her body in seconds, tearing her insides apart, destroying all in its path. Her body became overwhelmed with such monstrosity. It was too overbearing. A burning sensation rose from the inside and her gentle voice became harsh and husky. Her body shook non-stop, and her eyes began to haze.

"Mom!" Cream screamed.

Vanilla was Vanilla no more, dear rabbit. And she stood up, staring blankly at her daughter.

"M-MOMMY! W-WHAT HAPPENED TO M-MOMMY?!" the rabbit wailed, sobbing as despair wrapped its cruel arms around the rabbit.

"Vanilla!" Amy sobbed, collapsing to the floor hopelessly.

 _What have I done? This is my fault..._

Amy sobbed for a while, but then something flicked inside her, and an undying passion began to overtake her mind. She glared bitterly at the zombies at reached for the hammer.

"How dare you..." She walked forward. Brazen hedgehog.

"How dare you take her away you monster!"

Amy delivered powerful blows after another, ruthlessly bashing the zombies to oblivion. She vented her magnificent anger without any thought, only wanting to take revenge for the rabbit that fell.

But as she did, the zombies began to engulf Cream and she too fell into an endless pit that pulled her away from reality.

"Amy!" And those were her last words.

"NO, NO, NO!" she screamed, hammering the zombies with accurate precision, destroying their bodies with one amazing swing. But her swings weakened as the thought of her dead friends began to ebb her confidence. She fell down and sobbed, clutching her aching heart.

"My friends, gone! They're gone! How could this have happened?"

 _My fault, all mine..._

"SONIC!" she cried, throwing her head up.

 _Please help me..._

* * *

 **There you go! Another devastating story, yee haw! By the way I don't hate Vanilla or Cream, I just don't see how they can be effective to my story. But I feel bad for turning them into zombies. :( Sorry... And like I said, Rouge may have acted scared but she's just shaken, that's all. Don't worry, Amy will be free, I promise. Just keep fighting, girl! And where did Tails go? Hmm, you'll see. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it! Comment/Review/Ask! Buh-Bye! ;)**

 **Oh and I didn't expect this chapter to be that long, sorry for hurting your eyes. :/**


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTE: LONG CHAPTER ahead. Mild language and bloodshed. Also, I tortured Rouge and Amy, I'm such a horrible person. Sorry, girls. Anyways, Enjoy! Remember, this fan fiction owned by me! :) Also, not sure whether should change to M, because I figured that M was like T but just way more extreme? I don't know...**

* * *

Chapter 3: Let's Get Outta Here

With the sound of propellers that sliced through the air, all eyes were fixated on a blue and yellow biplane that flew into the picture, looming above the bloody battleground beneath. The plane was piloted by a very clever fox boy, who gripped that wheel with obvious expertise. The plane swooped upwards and circled around the battlefield, observing the dramatic dispute.

"Pilot Tails to the rescue!" announced Tails as he gave a cheerful wave to the blue hedgehog beneath.

The zombies turned to look at the mysterious flying machine that suddenly disrupted their battle against Sonic. They grunted and covered their faces with their arms, shielding themselves from the huge blast of wind created by the powerful propellers.

"Hahah! Tails!" Sonic responded with a grateful leap in the air. "Nice timing!" At that, Sonic gave a satisfied thumbs-up, to which the fox bashfully responded to with a humble chuckle.

Tails maneuvered the Tornado closer to the ground, circling round and round, as he cannot land the plane because there are no clear empty lots to land on. He pressed a red button on his control panel, and just like that, a pair of heavy-looking artillery was revealed from the sides of the plane. Tails shot the zombies a look of victory as he flicked open the tops of his wheel, revealing two smaller buttons. With eagerness in his mind, he pushed down on the buttons and a bunch of bullets appeared from them, striking the zombies down. Loud cries came from the zombies as many of them were shot down by the excited fox. A cruel grin grew on his face in pleasure, and Sonic shot him a strange look as he ducked beneath the plane, avoiding the bullet's line of sight.

As planned, many of the zombies Sonic had fought against with had been cleared, and the grass was bloody due to the amount of guts and muscles being blown to bits by the fox. As soon as the zombies have been cleared, Tails withdrew his guns and circled the plane around Sonic, lowering it closer to the ground. The large propellers made his voice faint, but Tails managed to speak to his best friend.

"Sonic," Tails called, cupping his hand in front of his mouth, "hop on!"

"Okay!"

As Tails circled the ex-convention ground, Sonic sprang from his place and ran beside the plane, trying to find the perfect time to jump. As he ran, several zombies appeared from beyond the bullet battered trees, aiming straight for the speedy blue hedgehog that ran around in circles.

"Nuh-uh! You ain't gonna catch me!" he mocked, smirking at the monsters behind him. But the sound of the Tornado's propellers drowned his voice, obscuring the path of his sound waves from reaching into the zombies' ear drums.

Tails had still circled the plane close to the ground, waiting for Sonic to hop on.

"C'mon, Sonic!" He watched as the Blue Blur accelerated and zoomed around the zombies until finally, he popped up and landed swiftly as his shoes made a loud thud sound upon the Tornado's wings.

"Right on! Great landing, Sonic!" cheered Tails, throwing his fist into the air.

"Heh, heh!" he chuckled proudly, rubbing his nose to mask his pride. Sonic had often found it pleasing when he did something awesome and somebody praised him for it. It made him feel… good. He grasped onto the stilts between the double wings of the biplane as Tails pulled the wheel upwards, which sent the blue and yellow biplane's nose to tilt upwards, flying away from the ground.

The zombies below them groaned in failure and threw their fists in the air in disgruntlement. They snarled viciously at the eluding pair as the plane did a celebrative spiral into the sky, disappearing right before the zombies' clouded eyes. Many of the zombies Sonic fought have been mutilated and completely bashed up. Their limbs and organs hung from their body as blood poured out, coloring the grass into a deep shade of red. As if the grass wasn't bloodied enough! The zombies moaned in pain from the hedgehog's feet and hands had inflicted upon them and started to wander around aimlessly.

"Woo hoo! We did it! See ya later, suckers!" Sonic hollered, hyper from the amount of adrenaline rush he received from kicking zombie butt. At the same time, he was feeling quite exhausted and wanted to lie down but as he was on a plane, he can't. He panted heavily and clutched his aching side, weary from fighting against a bunch of zombies.

"Hold on," Tails playfully reminded Sonic as he tilted the wheel, sending the Tornado to tilt upwards, ascending into the beautiful clear sky.

"T-Tails wait," Sonic panted, slouching over to catch his breath, "we need to save Amy!" His eyes sparkled with worry as an image of the bubbly pink girl flashed in his mind. "She's in the mall! C'mon!"

"Right," Tails nodded in determination and made the Tornado turn sharply around, aiming at the mall's direction. As the Tornado accelerated in speed, Sonic remembered Tail's pleasure at shooting the zombies and turned to face his innocent looking partner.

"So, Tails, I didn't know you liked shooting zombies," Sonic sneered cheekily at the fox as his cheeks burned bright red. His blue eyes flickered at the comment, ashamed at his pleasure for killing. He refused to face his best friend.

"Well, uh, yeah, b-but," he stammered uncomfortably, biting his lower lip. His grip on the wheel began to tighten, Sonic had noted.

 _Signs of when a person feels ashamed and guilty,_ he thought, still holding sneer at the fox.

"I think it's best we don't talk about that," he said, defeated, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Sonic threw a lighthearted chuckle and shook his head, amused. He liked it when he teases Tails because he gets such a cute reaction. Tails was so innocent that when he does something a little bit out of his normal nature, the hedgehog had found it so humorous and interesting. But Tails hated it when Sonic pointed out his change in nature, and he grunted slightly under his breath.

"Amy! Here we come!"

"So, Sonic, you into Amy now or what?" Tails teased, giving Sonic a taste of his own medicine. Sonic shot him a petrified look and shook his head rapidly.

"N-No! I just want to help a friend, that's all, _Tails,"_ he jeered, squinting his eyes at the fox. He gave a gruff 'humph' and crossed his arms hastily, leaning against the stilts that held the wings together. Tails threw a hearty laugh and expertly steered the wheel, tilting the plane to the right to lower it slightly.

"Didn't know this baby had guns," Sonic noted to which the fox nodded his head proudly. Tails gave him a thumbs-up and resumed to his steering. As the plane flew, Sonic observed the ground below and gasped at the horrific, calamitous city beneath his feet. Everything was demolished. He saw military vehicles scattered around the place, abandoned as their owners had been turned into zombies. Smoke and fire arose from the piles of destroyed vehicles and buildings. Zombies still roamed the area, walking around blindly, with no goal in mind. His green eyes illustrated remorse as guilt began to strike angrily inside his heart.

 _I could've saved those people. Guess being the fastest isn't where in the world did they come from? It's probably the work of that no good, double crossing Eggman! Perhaps we should find his tower and demand an explanation._

"Tails, quicken the pace. I have a feeling Amy's in a desperate situation right now," Sonic said sorrowfully, silently praying that Amy's doing fine.

Tail's ears flicked at his command and he made the Tornado fly faster. A swift machine only built by the hands of an eight year old. The plane glided through the air with flawless precision, like a torpedo through the water, or a missile. He promptly took his eyes of his wheel and glanced quickly at Sonic, mildly surprised by his sudden change of attitude. It's almost as if he felt... guilty and burdened. But he didn't do anything? Sonic didn't cause the outbreak, why was he feeling so remorseful? Tails observed Sonic's relaxed posture against the stilts, looking into the horizon, wistful and dreamy.

 _I wished I could've helped too, Sonic._

* * *

Using their trained skills as agents, Shadow and Rouge, as quietly as possible, tip toed across the zombie laden hallway to another large area where the elevators were located. Shadow lead the trio, while Rouge guarded the end. Even if there were zombies, the area still looked pretty neat. Light from above cascaded onto the crouching trio and reflected their tainted shadows on the ground. It was awfully quiet in here, Shadow had noted. Kim was still quivering behind him, horrified that the people she knew here had been turned into zombies, or killed by them.

It happened so fast, she noted inside her mind, looking down mournfully.

Those people she knew were now roaming around the office rooms and halls soullessly. Their footsteps were heavy as each foot they dragged was slow and painful, but with a lack of emotion displayed in their eyes. Soft moans echoed throughout the area, but their voice weren't filled with rage. In fact, the zombies were extremely mellow and passive. Sometimes they just stood there, doing absolutely nothing.

The trio had hid behind a wall, but they needed to get through the hall on their left turn in order to reach the elevators. Shadow had clenched his jaw tightly, not wanting to risk making any noise. He had observed that the zombies stay passive until sound has been emitted. He had also noted that the zombies can sense live and healthy flesh, but won't react unless they are very close by. He peered over his shoulder and the wall to scout. His red eyes glowed in perseverance, flickering back and forth to scout for any zombies ahead.

How brave, Kim thought, examining every detail of the hedgehog's dark furry back. She noticed that dynamic stripes ran down his arms, and his muscles rippled beneath his skin. He was so, handsome.

Kimberly Jameson! How could you stare at him like that? He's an animal for God's sake!

"He's very handsome, isn't he?" Rouge whispered into Kim's ears, a small grin growing on her lips. Kim's eyes flew wide and clenched her teeth to cover a squeal. Her body jolted slightly in embarrassment.

Damn, she must've noticed me staring!

Indeed she has. What else could she have been doing while waiting for Shadow to report?

Shadow's ears flicked backwards at the girls' mini chat and let out an annoyed grunt, also after he noticed that a zombie had turned its head at the direction of Kim's covered squeal. He whipped around and glared at both of them, putting a finger on his lips to tell them to zip it, then turned around to face the hall.

Rouge smirked at Kim and the woman looked away sheepishly, her cheeks redder than before.

"Several zombies occupy the horizontal hall beyond this vertical one on our left. We have to move fast but quietly," Shadow instructed, looking behind him, only to come face to face with two giggly girls. He blinked at them and rolled his eyes. "Come on." He gently stood up and flicked his hand behind him, a gesture that told the girls to follow.

Rouge gently placed her hand on Kim's shoulder to assure her that she's safe, while at the same time she perked her ears upwards, being the trio's close listener for any suspecting sounds. The bat looked behind her to check for anyone there, and fortunately, no one was. She had noted that the offices were wrecked and the glass had been broken. Chairs were ripped and blood dripped in all corners of the room. It's either the zombies' blood or the victims'. Both girls shuffled closer to the black hedgehog as he tried to perfect his timing on when they should move.

In Shadow's eyes, the zombies had left the entrance to the hallway and Shadow quickly motioned for them to move. The three of them quietly shuffled across the narrow vertical hallway and tip-toed across the hallway filled zombies.

We made it!

Rouge thought, smiling in determination whilst looking behind her. Her heart raced feverishly inside, lightly beating against her rib cage like a steady drum. She exhaled in alleviation and quietly shuffled along with Kim and Shadow.

Unfortunately, their sweet delicious scent of a healthy flesh caught the zombie's attention and they question the presence of not one, but three living beings? The zombies groaned louder and walked closer to the trio.

"Hurry!" Shadow implied heavily, dashing towards the elevator lightly. Kim started to whimper softly when she heard the zombies approaching. She pursed her lips together in fear and brought a hand to her heart, trying to calm herself.

"I got'cha!" Rouge consoled, holding on to Kim's hand. The three of them had reached the elevator and Shadow hastily pressed the down button.

As soon as he did, more zombie groans could be heard coming from the end of the hallway across, on the both hallways to the right and left. Their eerie sounds made Rouge and Shadow's fur stand on an edge. Rouge almost doubled over at their sharp grunts and pressed her and Kim against Shadow, wishing for the elevator to come faster. Her eyes glistened desperately, sending an invisible message to the elevator.

Be faster!

"Dammit," Shadow growled, turning around towards the direction of the sound his Ultimate ears picked up. He snarled defensively and backed away. "C'mon, faster you damn elevator!" His red ruby eyes flared up in rushed agitation.

"Shadow," the bad hissed, "don't attract attention. Quiet!"

"I know, godammit!" He looked up and noticed that the elevator still read a high floor number.

"Use Chaos Control!" Rouge spat, bringing her face close to Shadow's.

"I can't, Rouge, I need to save my energy!" he spat back, glaring at her. It's true, he had already used it twice consecutively beforehand.

"Shh!" Kim hushed aggressively. As their tension grew, the zombies' snarls increased in volume and their footsteps thudded lightly along the hallway. Kim stared horrifically at the monsters, whilst tugging on Rouge to look, but the bat ignored her and shot a piercing glare at the hedgehog, and the hedgehog returned the glare.

*Ding!*

At the sound, everyone hushed and turned to face the elevator. Shadow held his breath and stood before the elevator. The door opened gently and much to their horror, it was filled with bloodthirsty zombies. Both parties held a long, dreadful stare before one of the zombies reached out for them, hungry for more.

"Chaos Control, Chaos Control!" Rouge jeered, shaking Shadow vigorously to make him to do it. Unfortunately, the zombies stepped out of the elevators and lunged forward at the trio, inflicting their unholy wrath upon the three, and punched the hedgehog straight at his face.

"Argh!" Shadow flew backwards and collided with Rouge.

"Ah!" Rouge cried in surprise. She quickly held Shadow before the both of them would trip and fall backwards.

Kim screamed loudly and threw herself against Rouge and well, sandwiched her between Shadow and herself.

"Ugh! You guys!" she groaned, pushing them away to give herself more space. Before anyone could say anymore, the zombies rushed in and proceeded with their assault. Rouge flew upwards and came down ferociously, jabbing several zombies with her hard metallic shoes. The zombies moaned in pain and stumbled backwards. Before they had time to recover, Rouge appeared in front of them and swept her leg across their face, hitting every one of them square in the face with her powerful feet. As she did, she did a twirl on the spot and landed gracefully, then bowed down, proud of her elegant ballet like attack.

Shadow sped past her and bounced up, and as he did, he did a spindash and struck several zombies on their heads, bouncing off of one and to another, leaving a red and black trail in his place. He did a final bounce and landed in behind Rouge. All around them, the zombies crept closer, desiring to feast upon their beautiful flawless flesh, a flesh not tainted by any sickness, especially him, the Ultimate Lifeform that cannot be infected by any diseases and sicknesses on the world. All the zombies thirsted for Shadow's flesh, and the trio had noticed that their eyes were fixated on the hedgehog.

"Shadow! You get the zombies near the elevator, I'll take the ones in front of us," she informed, nodding her head to the hog.

"Rouge, there's too many! I'll take the ones on the front, you secure the back!"

"Are you serious? You're closer to the elevator, Shadow!"

"But, I don't want-"

"Shadow, there's no time! Do it, now!" she fired, shooting him a poisonous glare, to which he was taken aback to and turned to battle the elevator zombies. Shadow kept cursing and did a roundhouse kick to a zombie that lurched forward.

As he busied himself with the zombies, Rouge exhaled at her sudden burst of anger and ran forward, a sending a sharp kick into a zombie's stomach. The zombie fell over as more took its place. Rouge backed up a bit, bombarded by so many zombies. She bit her lower lip until it was bruised, suddenly regretting her decision.

Kim, this whole time, had been cowering in between the two agents and had tried her best to avoid the zombies. The Human had no knowledge and experience of combat whatsoever and had only been trained in the medical field. However she was swift and agile and could easily avoid the hands that desired to strike and claw her. However, with two agents on either side, she was pretty safe. Although deep down, she felt guilty for having two agents fight tirelessly for her while she stood there and did nothing. She felt burdened by that weight and wished to do something, but alas, she couldn't.

Shadow had courageously and almost angrily smashed the zombies into smithereen with his powerful punches. Blood coated the elevators and Shadow's gloves too, making him look like a ruthless murderer. He cursed at his bloody hands and his blood covered fur.

While Shadow had been delivering blows to his zombies, Rouge was having a difficult time trying to fight a horde of seemingly endless zombies that appeared out of nowhere. She grunted and panted heavily, sliding across the floor after a harsh kick to a zombie's head. Her icy glare stabbed into the eyes of the zombies before her and she sprang forth, using her fists to send a mighty force of pain into the zombies.

Unfortunately, one of the zombies had struck her across the cheek, causing the bat to stumble backwards. Her cheek began to sting as her hand flew to her burning cheek.

Her heart began to quicken its pace as she glared darkly at them, full of passion to demolish them. She cursed and prepared another punch. But before she could deliver it, a zombie shot forward and smacked her across her arm, tearing her muscle.

"Aahh!" she cried in pain, clutching tightly on her wounded arm as blood dripped from her arm and travelled across her flawless gloves, dirtying it. She fell down from the blow and groaned as pain ripped throughout her whole arm.

She let out a low growl and stood up to defend herself, but she had been weakened from the blow and another zombie stepped forward and punched her cheek. Rouge fell backwards and let out an exasperated moan.

"S-Shadow!" she called desperately, seeking his help. She turned to him as her eyes flickered with pure horror.

At the sound of his name, the hedgehog whipped around, eyes tremendously wide, heart in a frazzled frenzy, shocked to see his partner so defeated looking.

"Rouge!" he called, throwing his hand towards her. For a moment, he was frozen with underlying worry for his partner, and his feet were unable to be lifted off the ground. His heart thumped furiously, struggling with his emotions.

"Shad-" she managed, trying all she can to kick the zombies that tried to surround her. More zombies proceeded to engulf her and at the minute, Shadow narrowed his eyes icily and bounded towards Kim, sliding an arm around her waist as he slid across the floor, dragging the woman with him, and stopped behind Rouge, towering over her defensively.

"Chaos Spear!" he announced, sending a bolt of Chaos energy towards a group of zombies, sartling them in their tracks, causing them to hinder in their journey towards the fallen bat.

"Chaos," he started, slipping his arm around the bat's shivering shoulders, "Control!"

In flash of green sparks, the trio had vanished in thin air, leaving the zombies astounded and perplexed at the strange sorcery they witnessed.

The trio appeared at the Military Section located at the basement of HQ. Around them, zombie turned soldiers peered at them, then dashed forward, prepared to launch their attack.

Several more zombies began to gather at the trio and snapped their jaw viciously, transmitting fear into them, but only Kim quivered in fear. Shadow didn't care about them noticed that there were several military vehicles scattered all over the area via a zombie rampage that this area had underwent.

"Shadow, my arm," Rouge groaned, biting her lip to conceal a whimper of pain. She continued to clutch her arm desperately. Shadow nodded his head and pointed to a military vehicle.

"There's no time to waste, move it! Get to car, both of you! I'll handle this!" With that, Shadow dispatched from the girls and leapt into the air gracefully, making himself as eye catching as possible. His vivid scarlet stripes had certainly caught the attention of the zombies and they fixed their eyes on the hog. Incidentally, more so, his almost invincible flesh caused the zombies to feel dangerously desirous. Their eyes dilated at his incredible scent and they ran to him, hungry for his flesh.

"Hey! Bastards! Come and get me!" he taunted, preparing a Chaos Spear in his hand. The zombies snarled at his comment and forcefully threw themselves at the hedgehog, only to be incinerated by his powerful blast of Chaos Energy.

While he's got the zombie distracted, the girls quickly made their way to a military vehicle. Rouge swung open the door,clambered onto the driver's seat and slammed the door shut, locking it too for good measure. She let out a very long sigh, and slumped against the chair. Her breaths were short and heavy, tainted with immense stress. Her arm stung badly and she grimaced, clenching her jaw tightly to withstand the pain. Amounts of flesh and tissues are exposed and blood began to flow non-stop. Kim had climbed into the back seat and looked at her arm, taking it delicately in her hand.

"I can fix it, but unfortunately, I have no medical tools with me right now," she admitted, biting her lip in disappointment.

"Ohh," she moaned, "anything. Find anything! A cloth, s-something!" She winced at her gory looking arm as Kim began her search for a cloth.

Outside, Shadow dashed right past the zombies, aiming for the vehicle, swiftly avoiding the zombies' nasty hands that flailed about in an attempt to grab him. He performed a flawless Chaos Burst to dispel the zombies that ran after him.

"Shit," he muttered, hearing the zombies' ominous footsteps thundering behind him. He gave a gruff cry at Rouge, who turned to see Shadow running straight at her without losing momentum. She jerked upright and shot him a panicked glance.

"The door! Open the door! Get in the other seat, Rouge!" he ordered, swinging his arms in front o him in an effort to communicate with her.

Rouge panicked and scrambled across the driver's seat to the seat beside it, exhaustedly plopping herself on it as Shadow opened the door forcefully and fiercely sat down. Nobody said a word after that. Shadow's heavy breaths penetrated the tense silence as he gripped the steering wheel.

They all screamed when heavy banging noises were forced upon the windows as the zombies attempted to break in. They pushed against the vehicle, rocking it back and forth. Their horrifying faces were plastered against the windows, roaring at the trio with only murder planted in their minds. Kim gripped the side of her head as she let out a shrill cry of panic.

"Shadow!" she cried.

Shadow cursed and grunted as he transferred some Chaos Energy into the machine to start it, as there was no key to be found, and the vehicle's engine sputtered and revved up with a low, vibrating sound. Shadow's ears twitched at the appealing sound and stepped on the accelerator, causing the vehicle to lurch forward violently.

Rouge held onto her seat as Shadow swerved around, crushing several zombies in his path.

"Let's get out of here," Rouge sighed, closing her eyes in pain. Shadow observed the bat, unsure of what to say to her at the moment. He has never seen Rouge so vulnerable before. He brushed off his thoughts and stepped on it, making the vehicle zoom at an incredible speed towards the large door that led to a pathway outside.

At the front, he could see several zombies run after them, but he did a mock chuckle and drove the car straight at the barrier.

"Shadow! The wall!" Kim cried, putting on a seatbelt to secure herself.

"Noted," he said, smirking defiantly at the barrier. With an accelerated thrust, he rammed the vehicle against the wall, causing all three to jump up in their seats. Kim gave a sharp cry in shock. Shadow backed up again and rammed the wall again.

"Shadow!"

"Hold on!"

With one more thrust, the vehicle rammed straight through the wall, slicing into every fiber of metallic components. The vehicle was outside and quickly Shadow stepped on the accelerator and turned the vehicle around, driving it up a ramp that led to the upperground. Several zombies still pursued them nonetheless.

"They just don't quit, do they?" Rouge grumbled, cursing the zombies into Hell.

Finally the vehicle made it up the ramp and zoomed across the road opposite.

"Where to now, Shadow?" Rouge asked, still grasping onto her bleeding arm.

"The countryside."

Rouge's eyes widened at his response.

"W-Why?"

"Because it's pointless to try to battle against a horde of seemingly endless zombies when only two out of three of us are capable of fighting. And… you might get worn out."

"Good point..." Rouge sighed in alleviation and settled comfortably into her seat, letting herself slip into a daydream-y mood. She gazed out the window and noted the zombies that had mercilessly assaulted innocent lives, tearing apart their souls and bodies, leaving them into complete nothingness.

We made it, we made it. I can't believe this.

Quietness had fallen over the trio as Shadow concentrated on driving. Kim decided to take tiresome nap and fell asleep almost instantly. Rouge glanced at her hands then turned to face the cold hedgehog who was so immersed into his driving. She was about to speak up when his voice broke the silence instead of her, and she withdrew into her seat.

"I told you so. I should've taken the back," he muttered crudely.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just thought…"

"Just thought what?"

"Never mind." Rouge looked away, unable to speak.

"You're hurt," Shadow pointed out. If it wasn't any obvious, Shadow the Hedgehog. Rouge picked her arm up and stared at the gash. Her blood had dried up a bit, but it was still pretty gnarly in appearance. Suddenly the hedgehog slowed the vehicle and turned to face Rouge.

He inspected her arm and raised his hand towards it. Rouge sharply withdrew her arm, afraid he'll touch it.

But instead, Shadow hovered his hand right above the wound. His fingertips began to light up in green as Chaos Energy is released from his hand. Rouge held her breath as she watched the hedgehog work his power.

Misty looking energy had coated her wound and to her astonishment, layers of flesh began to heal by itself, and her bleeding had been stopped. She watched as pieces of muscle began to layer themselves and finally, the skin closed up, revealing no form of a scar at all. Rouge gaped at Shadow's powers and shot him an inquiring look.

"Shadow Heal," he responded as he retracted his hand back to the wheel. Rouge didn't say a word for a long time, but finally she gathered her strength together and spoke.

"Thank you." The bat rubbed her arm at where her wound had been and smiled slightly, grateful for Shadow's sudden act of compassion.

For a long time, the vehicle traveled up a long road, wanting to reach the end of the city to fully escape. All around, the city's buildings were dilapidated, destroyed by the zombies and the military's vain actions. The city had gone quiet, creepy though. Not a sound could be heard other than the soft groans of the zombies that still lingered about. The rays of the sun glinted off the building's broken glass, blinding the hedgehog for a moment.

Finally, all can rest as the trio embark on a journey to escape their destroyed home.

* * *

The Tornado flew smoothly through the chaos inflicted city as dilapidated buildings toppled, crashing onto the broken road below. Tails and Sonic examined the atmosphere, heavyhearted. Sonic brought his hand to his chest, completely disgusted by how awful the city looked. Neither Mobian said a word during the flight.

Sonic could see several zombies staggering and looking up at the plane. The Tornado's streamlined shadow loomed over the cracked ground.

I-I can't believe all this happened within seconds.

The hedgehog was baffled that it was such minor news then, bam, everything exploded all of a sudden. He shook his head in bewilderment, refusing the believe that this was reality, but sadly, it is.

"I don't understand, Tails."

"Hey, I'm the smart guy here, Sonic, yet I still don't understand it myself. I want to know how this happened, specifically, not when or what."

Sonic glanced at Tails, intrigued by his words.

"Yeah, me too. I bet did this was Eggman's doing."

"Perhaps so. Then I'd like to discover why on earth the Doctor is working with live experiments."

Hmm, strange of Eggman do experiments biologically rather than technologically, you know, if it was him. But we can't guarantee.

As Sonic mulled over the zombie outbreak, Tails tilted the Tornado as the desolate mall began to rise above the horizon. The place was bleak and abandoned as smashed cars piled everywhere and several corpses lined the roads and walkways. Smoke consumed the Tornado as it passed through.

"Sonic," the fox called, snapping him out of his morbid thoughts, "the mall's up ahead. I can't land as there are no clear spots. You need to drop down below and find her yourself!"

"Yes, sir!" Sonic replied, saluting to his friend playfully. His hand loosened around the stilts as Tail brought the Tornado closer to the ground, circling around the mall like a ravenous vulture. Even when situations are dire, Sonic can still make the best of it. He's like the spark between the duo, always the one to speak up first, and usually most optimistically. Tails admired that quality in Sonic. Although Amy claims Sonic's her hero, Sonic is Tail's hero too.

As soon as the Tornado lowered, Sonic saw the entrance to the mall had been covered by a bunch of hungry zombies pushing over each other as they tried to barge through.

"Ugh, shoot."

Tails saw that too and flew the plane higher, trying to scout for any openings on the walls of the mall.

Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream penetrated the air and Sonic's ears twitched violently at the sound. His green eyes widened drastically and he leaned forward, darting his eyes back and forth to search for where that sound came from.

"Amy!"

* * *

"Help! Somebody please!" Amy cried, still defending herself from the zombies by using her humongous hammer to pack a deadly punch at the zombies' faces. Several zombies flew backwards from the impact of her hammer, and their jaws broke in the process, causing their gums to bleed.

All around, pillars began to give in, collapsing loudly against the battered floors. The building began to quake violently as the walls prepared to tumble down. The mall was about to cave in!

"No! Help me!" she cried hopelessly, running the opposite direction to find herself a safer place. She dragged her hammer along the ground beside her, caring less about the damaged objects that lay scattered around her as her hammer came in contact with everyone of them.

She ran as fast as she could, hopping over broken pieces of glass or walls, or even corpses of dead people, those who were brutally attacked by the zombies and were killed instantly. As she ran, the zombies ran closely behind her, chasing the poor girl to the far end of the mall.

Amy's heartbeat advanced to its peak, pulsating voraciously inside her chest. She panted heavily as she ran. Her skirt was ripped and had hung loosely on her body like a rag cloth. Her feet began to ache exceedingly, delaying her pace slightly. The zombies' snarls grew louder as they neared her. Amy, with all of her might, swung her hammer around and smashed the zombies behind her. Sweat trickled down her face like a river, making her face shiny and wet as she stared boldly into the zombies' eyes.

Her pink ears fluttered at a faint sound outside the mall, and she looked up as her heart danced inside with delight. It sounded like… a plane.

Could it be…?

"HELP!" she screamed, cupping her hands around her mouth to intensify her voice. "HELP! IN HERE!" She grunted in dismay when she heard the propeller sounds fading. Seconds later, the sound grew closer again and her eye went wide in realization.

It's flying around!

Amy looked at the zombies coming at jumped up, bouncing off their heads and landed behind the large mob and ran closer to the sound. She continued screaming for help until her voice cracked from the amount of force she exerted. She gulped for air and panted heavily, almost doubling over from the exhaustion.

Suddenly a loud crash was emitted when a piece of glass from a window broke from one of the stores, and Sonic came sliding through, his shoes screeching as he halted. He stood up and looked around frantically for a pink female hedgehog. He ran to the rails and peered below.

"Amy!" he cried from an upper floor. "Hold on Amy! I'm coming!"

"Sonic!" she cried at the sound of her name, heart beating wildly. She looked up and saw the blue hedgehog standing on the floor above. She ran beneath him to greet him as he jumped from the floor above and landed gracefully in front of the shocked girl.

"S-Sonic!" she cried jubilantly as she ran towards him with her arms out. She threw herself onto him and wrapped her arms around her hero, bursting into to tears. Sonic was mildly surprised by her action, but he genuinely returned the hug and wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl.

"Oh Sonic, I thought I was going to die," she sobbed, pulling herself away from him to look at his emerald eyes.

"No, Amy. I'm here," he reassured wholeheartedly, smiling slightly at her. "But I gotta deal with these zombies' first, okay?" Amy nodded her head and freed Sonic from her clingy hug. She watched as Sonic zipped from her side and jumped up into the air to strike the zombies from above. Her heart fluttered with relief knowing that she's now safe with Sonic by her side. She clasped her hands together admiringly.

"Hey! Didn't your mother ever tell you that it's not nice to hit girls?" he mocked, sending a powerful kick on a zombie's head. The impact of his foot made the skull of the zombie crack open, and blood splattered on his foot.

"Yuck!"

Sonic spindashed and struck several zombies down by bouncing on their heads, making their delicate necks snap. The zombies groaned in pain and crumpled to the floor hopelessly.

He then jumped up and as he fell, swung his legs to sweep several zombies off of their feet. The zombies plopped to the ground with a loud thud, as their spines cracked. Blood seeped from the corners of their mouth and pooled beneath their damaged bodies.

"Hah! That'll teach ya!" As he recovered from his kick, he noticed at the corner of his eyes two familiar looking rabbits shuffling towards him, staring blankly into his emerald eyes. Then his heart sank to the ground and he fell to his knees, clutching his aching heart at the sudden realization.

 _No… Cream, Vanilla…_

He stared at the zombified rabbits horrifically and let out a frustrated and defeated cry, pounding his fists onto the floor in anguish.

"I couldn't save them!" Amy cried, burying her face into her hands as tears poured from her eyes, soaking her dirty, battered gloves. "I tried, but there were too many! I'm so sorry!" Amy backed away from the fray, pained to see the rabbits that stood ahead of her in their zombie glory, ashamed that she couldn't save them. She looked down in complete agony, guilty for her vain actions.

I'm such a horrible person!

Tears begin to pool at her eyelids, then they flooded and poured over, releasing the pain that Amy had felt during this whole time.

Sonic stared at her miserably, crushed by what she said. He gasped loudly and brought his hand to his stomach to comfort himself as she shook his head in disbelief. He closed his eyes, heartbroken. What's the point of battling against these monsters when the rest of your friends could have already been zombified? When you've lost everything? When your world has shattered apart? But then the zombie's groans provoked his mind and he opened his eyes in fury. His blood began to pump and surge through his veins as his heart beat began to rise. He narrowed his eyes at the zombies in front of him.

"How could you," he hissed. He sprang up and delivered a ravaging compelling kick to them, sending a majority of the zombies to fall backwards. He threw himself at them, but a zombie slapped his cheek and he flew to the left, sinking into a pile of broken glass.

"Ah!" he cried as pan began to burst at the side of his cheek.

"Sonic!" Amy yelled, extending her arms involuntarily towards him. "You monster, how dare you hurt Sonic!" She brought out her daunting hammer and aimed the hammer at their direction to deliver a threat.

Sonic growled and felt liquid travelling on the side of his face. He bounced from his position, landed on the ground, and crouched low to prepare for a fast-paced pounce, but as he did several more zombies from the main entrance barged through the door and aimed straight for the blue hero.

"Oh, crap!" he cried, barring his fangs at the barbaric, merciless monsters that hungered for his flesh. He turned to look at Amy, who still stood completely still in the middle of the mall then shifted his gaze to the roof. His ears flicked back the zombie groans that were thrown at his direction. He looked at the zombies and took an uneasy step back, trying to think of what to do next as his mind went into a frenzy.

"A-Amy, we gotta go! There's too many!" he cried, running towards the girl, jumping over fallen obstacles that barricaded him.

"What, can't you fight them all?" she asked, stunned. She blinked her eyes at him, unsure of whether or not Sonic meant what he meant. Sonic bit his lip as he placed a hand on his waist, taking her words into consideration.

"I-I can… but it's useless to try and fight a bunch of zombies when more are just going to come. Besides, you're hurt." Amy blushed and looked away, concealing a smile that was plastered on her face. "We gotta go! C'mon!"

At that Sonic fled from his spot and swung his arm around the girl's waist, earning a grateful giggle from her, and jumped to the upper floor to where he came from. He and Amy ran towards the store as more zombies appeared from others stores and started to run at them. Sonic gathered Amy in his arms and called for Tails as loudly as he can as he aimed for the broken window ahead.

The sound of the Tornado's propellers filled the air as the biplane shot past the window to make a loop.

Just as the Tornado made the loop and came back for them, Sonic slid on his side, full speed, towards the shattered glass and flew out the window. Amy screamed as she clung on to her hero as tightly as possible when the pair flew into the air. With perfect timing, the Tornado flew past and scooped the hedgehogs from the air.

Amy let out a sharp cry as she landed harshly on the wings, clutching tightly onto Sonic's neck.

"Amy!" Tails greeted with relief, sticking his hand out to give her a friendly wave.

"Ames, you alright?" Sonic asked to her, his hand still gripped strongly on her back.

Any nodded her head frantically.

The wind pounded against the pair forcefully, almost knocking Sonic over because both his hands were wrapped around Amy. He clenched his jaw as he stood up and began to walk across the Tornado to the extra seat behind Tails.

Sonic struggled against the wind but he managed to heroically carry Amy across the Tornado's wings, body, and even across Tails. He placed Amy into the seat behind the fox and she immediately put on her seat belt.

Sonic scrambled across the Tornado again and stationed himself on its wings again, gazing wistfully into the distance. Tails pulled the wheel and the Tornado tilted its nose upwards, ascending slowly above the clouds

As soon as the plane reached a high level, Tails slowed down and the Tornado flew at a steady speed, gliding smoothly across the cloud blanketed sky.

Both hedgehogs let out a distressed sigh and settled down in their respective seats. Sonic sat on the wing and leaned against the stilts.

The Tornado soared sleekly through the sky, letting a gentle wind touch and caress the three Mobians. For a while everyone was silent, especially Sonic as the image of Vanilla and Cream haunted his mind. He shut his eyes at the horrible image, wanting to shut it out but the image remained in his head.

He opened his eyes and stared mournfully at his shoes.

"I was so scared," Amy broke the silence, "I had thought I was going to die. I thought I'll never be able to see you or Tails or anybody again! I have never felt so hopeless before."

Sonic and Tails didn't reply, but only absorbed the words she had spoken.

"I wished I could've helped them somehow, or helped the other people below," she mused sadly, gazing at the ground below.

"I wish the same, Amy," Sonic replied hoarsely. His heart ached at the thought of the people in agonizing pain, being slaughtered by these monsters, and here he is sitting down and not doing anything useful. But it's useless to try and fight all of them at once without a proper plan.

"I don't understand. There's something here that doesn't add up nicely," Tails observed. "These zombies appeared out of nowhere and suddenly the city bursts into chaos. If this was the work of the Doctor-"

"Amy, where are you hurt?" Sonic interrupted, turning to look at the girl.

"I-I'm fine Sonic, thanks for asking," she said a little too cheerfully. "I'm just tired and aching everywhere, really. But I'm fine." She looked away to hide a blush that grew on her face.

Sonic smiled to her gently and resumed his post.

"Also, these zombies bleed," he continued, annoyed that Sonic interrupted him. "Strange, aren't zombies supposed to be dead? Unless there's some sort of virus or infection that had caused all of this. And I've observed that they are able to run really fast and move normally like any other living being. They just act, delusional." Tails kept thinking about the zombies, wondering why they behave the way they do as he cleverly maneuvered the Tornado through the air swiftly.

Sonic digested the fox's words and stared contemplatively at his feet, also wondering the same thing the fox had wondered about.

These zombies, aren't zombies... aren't they?

"Where to now, Sonic?" asked Tails from his seat, breaking Sonic's thoughts. He looked up from his shoes and stood up.

"The outskirts of the city, Tails. Let's get outta here."

* * *

 **Guys, I'm so sorrryyy for making this so long! This has got to be my longest chapter, I guarantee, for the whole story! I promise to not make the next chapters as long as this one! I'll make them probably around the same length as Chapter 2! Eeeek! I'm so sorry! But I hope it was interesting enough! :D Also my sister asked if I was doing SonAmy but NO, Sonic's just being nice to Amy since everything is so chaotic now. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed this LONG chapter! Buh-Bye! :)**


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